Proclaiming judgment about other people’s spirituality is a favorite pastime of some Christians. "He isn’t a real Christian because he doesn’t tithe. She isn’t a real Christian because she is living with her boyfriend. They aren’t real Christians because they don’t spend time working with the poor. They aren’t real Christians because they haven’t given everything away; they don’t walk the talk. They aren’t real Christians because they don’t read the Bible everyday and the ultimate judgment that has plagued our denomination…They aren’t real Christians because they are practicing homosexuals." Yes, passing judgment is ever so easy for us to do.

In today’s gospel reading, it is easy for us to pass judgment on the Pharisee. No doubt he does come across as incredibly self-righteous and years of condemning preaching have given strong support to this interpretation. However, before we get too wound up about the Pharisee, we should find out a bit more about this particular group.

The Pharisees were, in fact, the religiously responsible people of the day. They were dependable, upright, good neighbors who contributed to the community. They were in many ways the kind of people we love to have join our church. The Pharisee is a man who is comfortable in the Temple and there is no question that the Temple benefited greatly from his generosity. He knows the worship drill, getting all the postures correctly, knows the prayers by heart and is faithful in his recitation. This Pharisee is a stand up kind of guy. Sooo…what is it about him that causes Jesus to have scorn?

Here’s the rub…This Pharisee has nothing to ask of God. The Pharisee is like the kid who shows up with a report card of all A’s and mocks those who do not do as well. This Pharisee is the one who thinks he has it all under control and is sure God has blessed him because he has such a secure life.

On the other hand, the tax collector is compelling because of the powerful transformation that has happened in his life. There is no doubt he started out as one nasty kind of guy. He earned his living by working for a foreign government. He has been involved with collecting high taxes from his Jewish neighbors to give to the Roman government. He gives the Romans a flat rate for every person but makes his money by charging an excess and stuffing that in his own pocket. By every standard possible he is a crook and a traitor. But…he is able and willing to ask for God’s mercy, he is able and willing to seek healing, he is able and willing to be transformed. He goes home a different person from the one who entered the temple. He gets what religion is all about whereas the Pharisee isn’t able to move beyond his own self-glorification.

If we come to church only to hand God a good report card and do not seek to be transformed, then we have missed the whole point of coming into community for worship. If we come to church to discover love – that we are loved and that we love others, there is no better reason to be here. The end of this parable is unexpected. The Pharisee who gives a stellar performance to God goes home empty. He came asking nothing of God and returns home having received nothing. The tax collector, having engaged in despicable behavior of the most offensive kind, comes to the Temple asking for God’s mercy. He leaves the Temple with the gift of God’s forgiveness; he goes home justified, in right relationship with God. He has been transformed.

In his book Everything Belongs, Franciscan Richard Rohr writes: ‘Many people, even religious folks, settle for lives of "holier than thou" or lives consumed by hatred of their enemies. Being over and against is a lot easier than being in love. Both receiving love and giving love are perhaps the greatest spiritual challenges to our world. When we truly receive God’s love, when we know in the core of our souls that we are loved by God, we are transformed; we are changed. It is only when we are transformed by God’s love that we are able to give that love away. When we hear a critical voice inside of us telling us that we are not good enough, that we don’t deserve the unconditional love that God offers, it is impossible to give love away."

God is the one who desires healing, inclusion, bringing people together… God wants the best for us and the best from us. The church, any church, seems to spend a lot of time arguing about who has the right doctrine, who has the true information, who has the real interpretation and understanding of the Bible. The amount of energy spent arguing about scripture is embarrassing. The real question for the church is how are we transforming people, who is doing the job of healing.

Instead of worrying about other people’s interpretation of the Bible, instead of throwing out our critique and being thankful that we are like not this person or that person, Jesus is calling us to be the change we want to see in others. All of us have experienced pain in our lives; some more than others; some pain has been devastating, other pain not so much but the real essence of religion is what we do with our pain. The transformation of pain is what the Christian faith is all about. Are we able to move from the cross to resurrection with each piece of the cross that invades our lives?

When the church teaches and preaches spiritual strength, it is on the right path. Once again this week we have been sharply reminded that our lives can turn for the worse in an instant. As we have seen, through the fires in southern California, the circumstances of our exterior lives can be destroyed in a matter of days. What cannot be so easily destroyed is the faith that is inside of us. Those who are in strong places spiritually are thankful that their families have survived even if they lost everything in their material lives. Being grounded in God’s love gives us the hope and courage to move through this kind of tremendous challenge with grace and perseverance.

I am sorry that I missed the Mariner’s Inn choir last Sunday because they are always so inspiring. But while I was attending this conference in Cleveland, I heard a choir from another men’s shelter. With One Accord is a trio that comes from a men’s shelter in that beleaguered city. They move and touch people because they have risen from the ashes, from lives that have been ground down by poverty and/or addiction. These men have lived the hard life but have discovered Jesus’ transforming love and are a testament to that love. And so it is with the tax collector, who has turned from a life of exploitation to a life enveloped in love. He knows what it means to be loved by God because he has lived without God’s love. He knows the difference, something the Pharisee seems not to know.